Andrew Hamilton tastes life on the wild side in the new Land Rover Discovery
It was two days of adventure last week what with scaling rocks, fording rivers and climbing and descending 70 degree surfaces of sand and mud and other sorts of clobber. It was Land Rover's idea and we were proving that their latest Discovery, the Mark Three version, was very much at home in the roughest of environments, in this case Caithness and Sutherland in the far north of Scotland.
Conquering seemingly impossible terrain was very much a political statement by Land Rover for, as we all know, SUVs are under threat everywhere. Land Rover, conceived 55 years ago on the island of Anglesey, sees Discovery III as more than a rung or two above the "soft" off-roaders that proliferate on school runs and shopping chores. The latest arrival is in the premier league and it comes with premier kind of pricing too. When it goes on Irish sale next month, passenger versions will be tagged from €55,700 for the TDV6 S to €84,500 for the V8 HSE petrol flagship. For more utilitarian customers, there is the TDV6 S as a diesel commercial without rear windows at a mere €38,000.
The new Discovery is having its first presentation at the National Ploughing Championships in Tullow, Co Carlow, next week. It's big business for David Harpur, md of Land Rover who is projecting nearly 700 new Discovery sales next year. He claims there's nothing else on the Irish market offering "the widest breadth of capability in its class".
Whatever about its undoubted capability on and off the road, it's a surprisingly heavy beast. At over 2.7 tonnes, it's a third of a tonne heavier than its senior sibling, the Range Rover. The conservative modernity of the styling looks just right and it does what it has to, emphasis the Land Rover lineage and tradition with discretion rather than flamboyance.
Before we get back to driving on and off-road, some words on the cabin. Land Rover see it as critical to the new vehicle's success and it has stretched the wheelbase by 355mm to package in an optional third row of seats capable of accommodating adults in as much comfort as the first two rows. However, the length is up by just 130mm over the old model. It's also slightly wider to aid handling and fractionally lower to fit in more car parks.
When we turned the key in northern Scotland, we were staggered by the refinement of the 2,720cc diesel V6 developing 190bhp. Regardless of revs, there's simply no vibration. At idle or in a steady cruise, it's effectively silent. We tried to discern a diesel clatter but couldn't. It impressed us too with its outstanding torque character. Power is abundant at lower speeds while you can crawl in higher gears.
It should be said, though, that the new Discovery isn't for go-faster types: that almost goes without saying. It's such a big, heavy car that you aren't inclined to drive it vigorously. On the empty flat roads of Caithness, it felt contented at 60 mph and so did we. From 0 to 60 mph could take 13 seconds while the top speed is around 110 mph.
The new Discovery comes with a full panoply of off-road hardware: a low range gearbox, adjustable ride height, Hill Descent Control and, perhaps most fascinating of all, the all-new Terrain Response system which Land Rover developed itself for the model. Essentially just a round knob to the left of the driver, when the going gets rough he or she dials in the kind of terrain that is being encountered. There are five modes including sand, rocks and, of course, mud and they are all there as diagrams on the knob. TR cleverly tunes all the off-road aids with the throttle, traction control, differential, brake and gearbox. Land Rover says it will be extended to other models like the Sport version of the Range Rover and the replacement Freelander coming next year.
Terrain Response isn't available on the entry-level S model. It is fitted as standard to the S+, SE and HSE turbodiesels as well as the S and HSE petrol vehicles, all of which come with the electronic air suspension.
When we were doing the seemingly impossible rock climbs and descents, our guides from the Land Rover Experience off-road centres, were reassuring. Discovery III, they said, was built to withstand a 10 metre drop on to concrete and waterproof to a depth of 25 metres. You can't have a dead battery either because it's continuously recharged from the ignition.
Discovery III is the first progeny from Land Rover since Ford took over control. Currently it doesn't have profitability on its $2.7 billion investment but the new model range is set to represent Land Rover's biggest source of income. This mighty vehicle then has a mighty responsibility, being a breadwinner. It admirably copes with the tasks of on-road and off-road driving but can it fulfil this other challenge?